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First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

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Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#11

Post by ageofwant »

redact207 wrote: post #4

I find it sadly ironic that the industry that's responsible for most emissions and actively influences political position in this country to put profit before the environment is the one that this zero emissions car is being targeted at. With that said, bravo on the implementation and using the 79 as a very solid platform. The sales pitch of the article doesn't sound very compelling though, so I wonder how much succes…

Electrics have significant lower opex, it will make a fair dent in the considerable capex for this, especially given Australian labour costs. Also the article spruiks underground use, where air quality is always a consideration. So health and safety is also a plus.

So I recon cost parity should be tempered by all the external positives, which for electrics is not insignificant.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#12

Post by taneq »

elitistphoenix wrote: post #6
tomhoward wrote: post #3

For non-Australians, "ute" is the widely-used abbreviation for "utility vehicle".

Need to 'muricanise it more... It's a sort of pickup truck.

Smaller than most pickup trucks though, more like station-wagon sized.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#14

Post by taneq »

I don't know if "engineered in Australia" is a fair description, it's an electric conversion for 79-series Landcruisers, which are already widely used as light vehicles in the mining industry.

Mining LVs are a good match for electric vehicles, though, because they spend a lot of time traveling at low speed or sitting around idling, and they can be recharged from the plant's main electrical power source (which can be augmented with renewables) instead of using diesel which needs to be trucked in over hundreds of kilometers.

Edit: Also while the sticker price seems high, if the maintenance is lower by any significant amount then mining companies will love them. Equipment costs are a small fraction of site operating expenses.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#15

Post by JBReefer »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #13

Wow, that's a beautiful truck. I wish American utility vehicle designers would go back to a boxier design. Edit: I'd kill for a truck that had Land Rover looks with Ford or Toyota truck reliability.

Look up Rivian

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#16

Post by batiudrami »

taneq wrote: post #12
elitistphoenix wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Need to 'muricanise it more... It's a sort of pickup truck.

Smaller than most pickup trucks though, more like station-wagon sized.

Traditionally yeah, although most utes are pick-up sized now. They're enormous bastards.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#18

Post by senectus1 »

redact207 wrote: post #4

I find it sadly ironic that the industry that's responsible for most emissions and actively influences political position in this country to put profit before the environment is the one that this zero emissions car is being targeted at. With that said, bravo on the implementation and using the 79 as a very solid platform. The sales pitch of the article doesn't sound very compelling though, so I wonder how much succes…

FMG just signed a biggish deal for Solar PV to run the admin offices (and more): https://www.fmgl.com.au/docs/default-source/announcements/19...

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#19

Post by maxerickson »

campfireveteran wrote: post #9
elitistphoenix wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Need to 'muricanise it more... It's a sort of pickup truck.

Here, let me translate to American ;D - Chevy El Camino or Ford Ranchero. "Two^ nations divided by a common language" - (someone famous) ^Four, really.

The Land Cruiser platform in the article is similar in size to the more contemporary Ford Explorer Sport Trac:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer_Sport_Trac

It's also probably more comparable mechanically.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#20

Post by DrStalker »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #17
tjmc wrote: post #2

Very expensive. AUD200K is over USD$136K

Cheaper than running it on petrol you have to haul in. Have to look at total operating costs, not just vehicle sticker.

They also mention reduces ventilation needs; if mines don't have to handle diesel exhaust in confined underground spaces that's another win.
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